FRANCESCA is a new giallo film from Argentinian brothers Luciano and Nicolás Onetti (Sonno Profondo, 2013). The film, which made its world premiere at SITGES Film Festival in October 2015, is now coming to home video courtesy of Unearthed Films and MVD Entertainment

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It’s been 15 years since the disappearance of little Francesca, daughter of the renowned poet and playwright, Vittorio Visconti. The community is stalked by a psychopath bent on cleaning the city of “impure and damned souls”. Moretti and Succo are the detectives in charge of finding the killer of these “Dantesque” crimes. Francesca has returned, but she is not be the same girl they once knew.

FRANCESCA has won several film festival awards including Best Director at Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre 2015, Best Production Design at Tabloid Witch Awards – Hollywood Investigator 2015, Weird Visions Award at Ravenna Nightmare 2015, Best Giallo Film at Crypticon Kansas City 2016, and Special Mention at Horrorant 2016 in Greece.

I saw Attack of the Killer Tomatoes many years ago and don’t remember much about it other than not particularly liking it. As a result I didn’t go into this movie expecting much and even with my lowered expectations I was wildly disappointed by this movie.

The movie takes place many years after the first one and the world is now tomatoes free and they are only available on the black market. A mad scientist (John Astin, The Adams Family 1964) has discovered a way to transform tomatoes into whatever sort of person he wants by adding some chemicals and playing music. He makes everything from huge shirtless Rambo types to his lovely assistant (Karen M. Waldor, Cannibal Woman in the Avocado Jungle of Death 1989) who eventually escapes and goes to a local pizza guy, Chad (Anthony Starke, Nowhere to Run 1993) for help.

I was immediately annoyed by the movie because it starts like a Creature Feature or Elvira movie with a host introducing the film. This gimmick is rarely done well and unfortunately it was not accomplished here. After the opening shenanigans we get to the actual movie and it starts off somewhat promising but never ends up pulling off what it was trying to accomplish. And unlike its predecessor, unfortunately, there is no giant killer tomatoes.

Really the best part of the movie is George Clooney who plays Chad’s best friend. It’s amusing to see him so young and with such a ridiculous hair cut but it’s also seems like he had fun making the movie.

The 2k transfer is good but it’s really nothing to write home about. There a few overly grainy parts and I probably wouldn’t have noticed so much if I had actually been enjoying the movie.

This disc is not heavy on the special features but we get a brand new audio commentary with writer-director John De Bello and a brand new interview with star Anthony Starke. The interview with Anthony Starke was an incredibly pointless interview that really just had him talking about hanging out with George Clooney. It also comes with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin and a fully-illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing by critic James Oliver.

Overall this is my least favorite Arrow release and one I most certainly won’t watch again. Again, I don’t really remember the first one but I imagine that if you liked that one you’ll probably get a kick out of this one. Otherwise I’d steer clear of this release and that pains me to say because I so truly love Arrow’s releases.

This week Chuck and I talk about all sorts of things. Horror news; Ghostbusters (ugh), Halloween and some other stuff I can’t recall because it was late. We also talk a little bit about The VVitch and we review Blue Undergrounds double feature blu-ray of The Millions Eyes of SuMuru and The Girl From Rio (Rio 70).

After a fashion model dies while having an after-hours abortion, someone is hell bent on revenge. The murders start with the doctor who performed the abortion and from there onto everyone associated with the Albatross modeling company. No one is safe.

While no one in this film is actually stripping for the killer, but that doesn’t mean there is no nudity. Strip Nude For Your Killer is packed full of nudity which mostly comes from genre favorite Edwige Fenech (The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh). But this film is much more than that, it is a stylish giallo that also has some fantastic and violent kills. It also has one of my favorite killers in any giallo, dressed head to toe in black leather and wearing a black motorcycle helmet armed with only a single switchblade and vengeance!

The film has a reputation for being sleazy, but I don’t see it as that. To me, Bianchi (Burial Ground) has made a beautiful film that may have a few strange and sleazy characters, but that doesn’t warrant the entire film to be called “sleazy” or “trashy.” I feel that Strip Nude For Your Killer is a smart and superb giallo.

Blue Underground has done wonders with the transfer and sound quality on this release. It looks and sounds absolutely amazing. Not to say their DVD looked bad in anyway, because it didn’t, but it does blow my German BD and Shameless DVD out of the water! This new transfer is from the original uncut and uncensored camera negative. Extra features include Strip Nude For Your Giallo – interviews with actress Solvi Stubing and co-writer Massimo Felisatti which was carried over from the DVD release. We also get the Italian and international trailers and a poster/still gallery.

I recommend that you upgrade your DVD, the BD will cost you less than $20.00 on DiabolikDVD.com and everyone needs more Edwige Fenech in high definition! This has been in my top ten giallo films since the first time I saw it. Those of you who may be unfamiliar with this genre of film should educate yourself a little since we are in somewhat of a giallo resurgence. With films out there like Amer, Francesca¸ Tulpa and Black Aria just to name a few. I encourage you to watch Strip Nude For Your Killer and the tons of other giallo’s from the seventies!

Over all this is an exceptional release for an amazing film. My only wish would be for some more special features.

You don’t have to go to Texas for a chainsaw massacre, quite possibly my absolute favorite tag line. This is one of those titles that I and probably all of you have been dying to get a release since Grindhouse started releasing blus. Well, it finally happened and I am not the slightest bit disappointed despite having to wait about two years for it. The transfer looks fantastic! Better than I could’ve dreamed. I have a German hardbox blu-ray and the picture quality is shit! It’s worse than the original Grindhouse and Arrow UK DVD’s. Not that they looked bad, this particular BD was just up converted from a terrible looking DVD source. This new transfer though, it is stellar!

This two disc blu-ray set comes with both versions of the film; the original, unrated U.S. cut (83mins) and MIL GRITOS TIENE LA NOCHE, the uncut directors cut in Spanish (86mins). There is a new commentary track with Jack Taylor and in-depth interviews with director Juan Piquer Simon. My favorite feature is the new documentary 42nd STREET MEMORIES with interviews from William Lustig, Larry Cohen, Jeff Lieberman and Lynn Lowry just to name a few. This doc is excellent and should be one of the first things you watch, after the film of course. The third disc is the original soundtrack by Stelvio Cipriani, Carlo Maria Cordio and Fabio Frizzi!

As some of you know the first 2000 copies came with a replica jigsaw puzzle from the film. I purchased mine from DiabolikDVD who stated that if you preordered by a certain date you were guaranteed a puzzle. I knew this not only because I am a regular shopper of their site but because I read the press release that Grindhouse Releasing released and it stated that you could preorder directly from DiabolikDVD and gave the web address. Some people missed that memo so they bitched and moaned on YouTube about it and looked like a jackass.

Puzzle aside, this is a must own release! One of the best slashers from the 1980’s in my opinion. It’s fun and gory, a four star film and if you’ve never seen it before just do yourself a favor and go buy a copy. Hell, you may still get a puzzle with yours and you can brag online about it.

In the post-apocalyptic future of 1997 life in the wasteland is hard. With little to no water, everyone has to scavenge for vintage items in exchange for drinking water. Our hero The Kid is a non-confrontational loner, riding his BMX bike across the wasteland in search for items to trade for water and issues of his favorite comic book Turbo Man until one day when he meets a girl. He teaches her the rules of life in the wasteland, of scavenging and protecting yourself until one day the henchmen of the tyrannical overlord of the wasteland Zeus, kidnaps her. Our hero then has to look deep down in himself and become like the hero he idolizes most.

For a film that seemed to just appear out of nowhere, TURBO KID is an ultra-violent MAD MAX mixed with a bit of BMX BANDITS! I absolutely fell in love with the film! I mean what’s not to love? You have a great cast, great practical effects, gore galore and a villain with a circular saw on his wrist! Michael Ironside gives a fantastic performance as Zeus, the ruler of the wasteland. While the most memorable character we meet is Apple, The Kid’s new best friend and love of his life played by Laurence LeBouef. This lovable lady supplies us with most of our comedic moments in the film and one great ARMY OF DARKNESS reference. The film boasts a wide variety of memorable death scenes along with some interesting and creative weapons. TURBO KID has that retro style to it that has been fairly popular in the past couple of years and while it’s not for everyone, I do think most viewers can find something enjoyable in the film even if it isn’t your cup of tea. It was by far one of my favorite films from last year and I do think when it’s all said and done it will go down with a cult following.

The TURBO KID 3 disc set (BD, 2DVD) comes from Epic Pictures and will set you back about $30. You can snag it from www.turbo-kid.com. It’s loaded with special features including; a making of feature, festival Q & A’s, audio commentary, four different galleries and more. There is also a Region A steelbook of the film you can get for the same price at DiabolikDVD but I am unsure of the features on that particular release.